When I first made the switch from freshwater to marine fishkeeping, I was somewhat befuddled by the term “alkalinity” as it’s typically used on the saltwater side of the hobby. During all my years of keeping freshwater systems, I had…
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The Many Means of Nutrient Export in Marine Aquariums
Dissolved nutrients. Sounds like a good thing, right? After all, every organism needs nutrients in one form or another in order to grow and stay in good health. So why are marine aquarium hobbyists—particularly reefkeepers—seemingly so fixated on keeping the…
Why Do We Find This Marine Aquarium Stuff So Fascinating?
I don’t know about many of you guys, but I have been watching fish for well over half a century, and today, as I was sitting close to my tank, watching every move of every tentacle, I started thinking, wow,…
Before Adding That Marine Aquarium Supplement, Ask Yourself These 5 Questions
You’re perusing the shelves of aquarium supplements at your local fish store when you come across a colorful bottle labeled “Dr. Hfuhruhurr’s Magic Reef Elixir.” Intrigued, you read on to discover the product’s intended purpose. The claims on the label…
Five External Stressors of Marine Aquarium Fish
Most marine aquarium hobbyists want to provide as naturalistic and stress-free an environment as possible for the fish and other livestock in their care, so they’re careful to maximize water quality, offer nutritious foods, promote compatibility among tankmates, aquascape appropriately,…
When is it Okay to Leave a Dead Fish in a Marine Aquarium?
A fellow hobbyist once told that when a fish dies in his tank, he just leaves it there to rot because “that’s what happens in nature.” While he was right about the decomposition of a dead fish being natural, allowing…
Why would Ecotech Marine and AquaIllumination join forces?
The news that Ecotech Marine and AquaIllumination had completed a formal merger came as quite a shock to the marine aquarium world. The reasons for AI and EM joining forces might come across as a monopolistic move to the shortsighted,…
Why Many Marine Fish Benefit From Mature Tanks
Astute salties out there will likely have observed that in some of our fish species profiles, we emphasize the need to keep the fish in a “mature” aquarium—meaning one that has been set up and established for at least six…
Protect Your Marine Livestock from the Perils of Powerheads
We marine aquarium hobbyists generally strive to create aquatic environments that are as naturalistic as possible for the animals in our care. We use high-quality salt mixes to replicate natural sea water (assuming we don’t collect salt water directly from…
The Challenges of Collecting Natural Sea Water for Your Marine Aquarium
Given the ready availability—and relative affordability—of high-quality synthetic sea salt mixes, it’s not surprising that the vast majority of marine aquarium hobbyists today choose to use artificial sea water rather than collect the natural stuff from the ocean for their…
